October was a month of treats, not tricks, for podcasters as listener and downloads grew and Podtrac says among the publishers it measures, 16 of the top 20 experienced gains compared to a month earlier. The top spot was again held by iHeartPodcasts, followed by Wondery and NPR. Overall, Podtrac reports the top 20 publishers had a one percent month-over-month increase in their U.S. unique monthly audience during October. And global downloads grew three percent. Read moreDownloads And Reach Grew For Big Publishers In October; iHeart Again Tops Podtrac Ranking.

Despite a slowdown in its business, especially in North America, Acast reports its third quarter revenue grew 21% from a year ago to $29.9 million. Marketers are booking their ads later than usual, however. Acast reports it also took another step closer to profitability as its losses shrank to $7 million for the quarter. “Even in the more challenging macro environment we are moving towards profitability in 2024,” CEO Ross Adams said during a webinar for investors Tuesday. Read moreAcast Revenue Grew 21% During Third Quarter Despite An Uneven Ad Market.

In a signal CBS News has bigger plans for podcasting, the company has hired a network news veteran to oversee content for CBS News’ slate of podcasts. Megan Marcus rejoins CBS as VP of Podcast Editorial at Paramount where she will oversee content for CBS News’ slate of podcasts. This marks a return to CBS News for Marcus, who produced the first two seasons of Mo Rocca’s Mobituaries podcast. She most recently has been working at CNN and previously worked at NBC News. Read moreCBS News Hires Network News Vet To Lead Podcast Development.

The show may be called Lead Balloon, but host Dusty Weis was flying high for his recent episode. It was recorded during a ride along with the famed U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron at the unit’s Pensacola, FL headquarters. Lead Balloon does not typically produce videos of its episodes, but this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Weis and the show resulted in a companion video version of the podcast. Read more‘Lead Balloon’ Flies High, Becoming First Podcast Episode Recorded In An F-18.

Jalen Rose, a 13-year NBA player who is now a sports analyst for ABC and ESPN, is also the host of the Renaissance Man podcast. Launched in September 2020 with The New York Post, Rose has just inked a deal with Pod Digital Media to handle advertising sales for the weekly series. Pod Digital Media says it has also recently signed lifestyle specialist and entertainment industry veteran Kenny Burns and actor Bill Bellamy to its roster of more than 400 shows hosted by Black and Latino podcasters. Read morePod Digital Media Adds Shows From Jalen Rose, Kenny Burns And Bill Bellamy To Its Roster.

Two years after Amazon Music brought the spoken word to its app, the company is making most podcasts ad-free for its Prime members. The benefit will also extend to music, as Prime members will have access to Amazon Music’s full catalog of 100 million songs ad-free at no additional cost to their membership. Users will also begin to see a new look for the Amazon Music app, including the new Podcast Previews feature. Read morePrime Members Now Get Podcasts Ad-Free As Amazon Music Refresh Adds Podcast Previews.

Despite economic headwinds, Magellan AI says podcast advertising managed to eke out some growth in advertising revenue during the third quarter. Podcast ad spending decreased from June to July, but Magellan AI says it recovered in August and September and put the final tally at a 2.6% growth rate compared to the second quarter. The quarterly report says average podcast ad loads shrank during Q3, while 1,878 new brands came into the medium. Read morePodcasting Shakes Off Ad Slowdown During Q3 To Grow 3%, While Ad Loads Ticked Lower.

The average one minute podcast ad that sold through Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast last month had a $24.24 CPM rate, a slight uptick from the $24.15 rate the company recorded for September. The CPM average was up three percent from a year go. Kids & Family podcasts had the highest average CPM last month, followed by Technology and True Crime. But AdvertiseCast there were also bargains to be found. Read morePodcast CPMs Held Steady In October Says AdvertiseCast.

Market Enginuity, the ad rep firm that sells ad time for independent podcast networks and public radio and TV stations, is expanding its focus on podcast advertising. It is spinning off the Market Enginuity Podcast Group into a new freestanding unit called Soundrise that will offer sales, marketing, and other infrastructure to support podcast creators. Market Enginuity EVP/CRO Harry Clark will take on the role as President of Soundrise. Read morePublic Media Rep Firm Market Enginuity Spins Off Podcast Business To Form Soundrise.

Sounder’s focus on brand safety has continued to resonate with podcasters, as several companies have signed on in recent months to use Sounder’s transcription-based methodology. Now it is sharing more insight into how it applies its brand safety guidelines. Sounder has released a summary of the white paper it shared with Global Alliance for Responsible Media laying out its interpretation of how GARM’s framework should be applied to podcasting. That includes what qualifies as high, medium, and low risk content. Read moreWhat’s ‘High’ And ‘Low’ Risk Content? Sounder Shows How It’s Applying Brand Safety Tools.

Despite what it says has been a “deceleration” in the ad market, SiriusXM said Tuesday that its podcast and digital business grew 37% during the third quarter with $123 million in total revenue. CEO Jennifer Witz says SiriusXM continues to make investments in its technology and software to give ad buyers better control over how they target digital listeners. Read moreSiriusXM’s Podcast Revenue Grew 37% During The Third Quarter.

Podcasting is proving to be a two-way street inside Apple, at least when it comes to show development. The company is developing a TV show based on the Wild Things: Siegfried & Roy podcast. And this week it will debut a podcast companion to its “Little America” series on Apple TV+ ahead of the debut of the television’s show’s new season next month. Read moreApple Is Developing TV Show Based On Siegfried & Roy Podcast.

Sounder, the podcast management and monetization platform, sees its future in data and that is where CEO Kal Amin says the company will be heading going forward. Driving that decision, he says, is the work Sounder has been doing this year with companies like iHeartMedia, Audacy, DAX and SpokenLayer, which Amin says led them to conclude there is an “exciting opportunity” to recast Sounder as a data provider.  Read moreCEO Kal Amin Says Sounder Is ‘Evolving’ Its Business To Focus On Data.

Kaleidoscope, a podcast start-up led by Oz Woloshy and Mangesh Hattikudur, is teaming up with iHeartMedia to produce and distribute a slate of narrative podcasts. The collaboration includes an initial slate of six podcasts that tell largely-unknown true stories from different corners of the globe. As part of the arrangement, Kaleidoscope and iHeartPodcasts will release one new fascinating investigative podcast each month. Read morePodcast Startup Kaleidoscope Inks Distribution Deal With iHeartPodcasts.

Spotify says the number of users that engaged with podcasts during third quarter grew by double-digits and its per user podcast consumption rates continued to grow but it did not provide any specific usage numbers. But Spotify did say at the end of Q3 it had 4.7 million podcasts on its platform. Podcasting helped to drive a 19% increase in ad-supported revenue at Spotify, with total revenue of $3 billion for the quarter. CEO Daniel Ek also said a price hike is possible in the year to come. Read moreSpotify Says Podcast Engagement Rose During Q3; Subscription Price Hike Likely In 2023.

Since April 1, Audacy has launched more than 70 sports podcasts and it plans to launch more than 20 more in the coming weeks as its focus has increasingly been on leveraging its portfolio of radio stations around the country. The company says that effort is paying off with downloads of Audacy’s sports podcasts growing 50% from August to September. The newest addition to the lineup is The Best Football Show, a daily podcast from “SportsRadio 94” WIP-FM Philadelphia. Read moreAudacy Is Placing A Big Bet On Sports Podcasts. The Early Returns Look Promising.

The B2B podcast and audio network CyberWire is merging with the cybersecurity training company CyberVista to form N2K Networks, what it describes as a “news to knowledge” network. As part of the merger, Graham Holdings Company – the owner of podcast companies City Cast and Pinna – has led a $5.4 million fundraising round by N2K. Read moreB2B Podcaster CyberWire Merges With Training Firm To Create N2K Networks.

Actor and producer Oscar Isaac is becoming the latest Hollywood star to jump into podcasting. Isaac is teaming with writer Edgar Castillo to executive produce and star in a new true crime series for Calvary Audio. The podcast, called The Rosenberg Case, was initially written as a TV series. But the team at Cavalry Audio says it saw its “immediate potential” to be a great true crime podcast, and so that is where the story will first appear. Read moreWritten As A TV Show, Calvary Says It Will Instead Debut True Crime Story As A Podcast.

Comedian and actress Amanda Seales will host a new daily radio show and podcast for Radio One urban contemporary WRNB Philadelphia that is set to debut Nov. 7. Seales will be joined by Marc “DJ Nailz” Dixon, a midday host at co-owned urban contemporary “Power 107.5” WCKX Columbus. Read moreRadio One Launches ‘Amanda Seales Show’ For Radio And Podcast.

Despite fears of how an advertising slowdown could impact podcasters there is a positive indicator that marketers are still spending with the medium heading into the critical final months of the year. Magellan AI says the top 15 podcast advertisers spent $35.779 million during September, an 11% increase from what the top 15 spent during August. The online mental health brand BetterHelp remained the top podcast advertiser during September. Read moreMagellan AI: Top 15 Podcast Advertisers Spent 11% More In Sept.; BetterHelp Holds No. 1.

In a move Apple says will make it easier for listeners to see and access more content at a glance on iPad, it released a redesign of Apple Podcasts with release of the iPad OS 16.1 software update. Not all the changes are tech-focused, however. Apple is also introducing some updates geared to helping listeners discover shows and subscribe to content. Read moreApple Podcasts Adds New Features Aimed At Discovery While Its iPad Version Gets A Refresh.

The idea of another celebrity having their own podcast may elicit eyerolls from some people. Emily Ratajkowski was one of them three years ago when she was first approached with the idea. Everyone has a podcast she remembers thinking. Now as Ratajkowski launches her High Low podcast, the wait, it turns out, was by design. She wanted to have something to say. Read moreEmily Ratajkowski Has Celebrity. She Says Her Podcast Will Show She Has Something To Say.

After a nearly seven-year run at Gimlet Media, Annie-Rose Strasser has exited the Spotify-owned studio for a new role at the New York Times. She joins as Executive Producer for the paper’s Opinion Audio where she will lead the team whose podcasts currently include The Ezra Klein Show, First Person and The Argument. Read moreGimlet’s Annie-Rose Strasser Jumps To New York Times Podcast Team.

The podcast studio Wonkybot has signed actress Hannah Monson, best known for her role in Netflix’s “Glitch,” to star in its new sci-fi scripted podcast called Historynauts. It is set within creator Stewart St John's growing Tremendous Universe content vertical. Historynauts is the first of several pilots being produced under Wonkybot’s Pilot Showcase banner that will drop first episodes of series to build audience awareness before releasing the full seasons. Read moreActress Hannah Monson Joins Cast Of Young Adult Fiction Studio Wonkybot’s Latest Project.

The BBC is expanding its digital news team in the U.S. as it hires a pair of executives to lead the effort. NPR Director of Digital News Saeed Ahmed and Peacock Senior VP of Programming Jen Brown are jumping to BBC. The network has also released its Q3 report on listening on its BBC Sounds app. News content did the best among podcasts, but overall, the BBC live streams still dominate listening. Read moreBBC Recruits NPR Executive As Part Of U.S. Expansion; Releases Q3 App Listening Figures.

PodcastOne parent LiveOne has released preliminary quarterly results showing it had $23 million total revenue during its fiscal second quarter, a five percent increase over a year ago thanks to the audio division’s growth... Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast will continue as the exclusive ad sales representative for The Michael Savage Show under a new deal with the Radio Hall of Famer... Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall is lowering his estimates for Spotify’s Q3 ad revenue and subscriber growth... Journalist Maayan Hoffman has been hired to host the four-year old medial news podcast Hadassah On Call. Read morePodcast News Bites: PodcastOne, AdvertiseCast, Michael Savage, Spotify. Hadassah.

At last week’s NAB Show New York, the second season of the true crime podcast Cold won the Marconi Award for best radio-produced podcast of the year. Created in a partnership between Bonneville’s KSL NewsRadio and KSL-TV, the show is one example of how radio can successfully tap into the under-served local podcast market before non-radio media companies wrestle the opportunity away. “If you don't try, it's worse than nothing,” said Sheryl Worsley, VP of Podcasting at Bonneville. Read moreLocally Targeted Podcasts Are An Emerging Part Of The Audio Frontier.

“Audio is definitely under attack,” said Cara Lewis, Chief Investment Officer at Dentsu. “It's just like content anywhere,” she said during an Advertising Panel last week in New York. But as a giant ad agency like hers looks across at the options available for its clients, such as Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet and Coca Cola, Lewis said there is still a compelling case for marketers to be in audio. Read moreAudio Is ‘Under Attack’ From Other Media. But It’s Got New Tools To Make The Sale.

Whether on-air, on a podcast or beyond, endorsement ads are under scrutiny in Washington where the Federal Trade Commission has voted 3-1 to begin exploring stiffer penalties tied to deceptive endorsement ads. Among the ideas it is considering is adopting a new mechanism whereby fines could potentially be issued against people or companies behind bogus endorsements and fake reviews. The FTC is already working to update its endorsement guidelines. Read moreFTC Crackdown On Endorsements Continues, With New Proposal To Create Fines.

Filmmaker Adam McKay is putting his creative energies to work in a new podcast that his company, Hyperobject Industries, has developed with Sony Music Entertainment. Bedtime Stories will feature McKay telling what the show’s creators say are “light, improvised tales” geared to help listeners ease their busy, stressed minds. McKay was inspired to create the format by both his love of improv comedy, as a veteran of the legendary Second City, and his habit of listening to podcasts to help him fall asleep. Read moreFilmmaker Adam McKay Creates Podcast To Tell ‘Bedtime Stories.’

TheGrio is turning to a pair of its podcasters for a new two hour news block on the streaming network. Today Eboni K. Williams and Marc Lamont Hill will each begin hosting a one-hour show on Allen Media Group’s news, lifestyle, sports and entertainment platform. The two news programs will also be available on demand via the TheGrio Streaming app. Read moreTheGrio Podcasters Eboni K. Williams And Marc Lamont Hill Add TV Duties.

Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, is leaving Spotify at the end of this month but in the meantime they are working to expand the reach of one of their shows. Higher Ground has teamed up with the racial justice organization Color Of Change to create a digital companion guide to Heather McGhee’s The Sum of Us podcast. The guide will take a deeper look at the people and movements featured in the series and provide tools to help people to take action in their communities. Read moreHigher Ground Creates Action Guide For ‘The Sum Of Us’ Podcast.

Radio’s largest companies have drawn on their considerable resources and expertise to engage consumers wherever – and however – they consume audio. At the NAB Show New York, digital execs from iHeartMedia and Audacy talked about the trends they are seeing and where they are placing their biggest digital bets. While the technology for distributing content and serving ads has become more complex, what hasn’t changed is brands wanting to lean into household-name local personalities to deliver their message. Read moreFrom NAB New York: Digital Execs On How To Cover The ‘Entire Continuum’ Of Listening.

The oldest Gen Z is now 25 years old and during the next several years the second generation of digital natives will continue to age into spoken word content and that has big implications for podcasters as a new crop of listeners arrive and makes their content demands known. “They’re going to maintain the values that built this community,” Libsyn’s Rob Greenlee said at the Podcast Futures conference in New York this week. Read moreHere Come The Gen Z Listeners. And They Have Plenty In Common With The Old Guard.

As the audio industry stares down a bumpy patch in the economy, working in its favor is a renewed sense of interest in the medium. That was on display this week at Advertising Week in New York where the message to marketers is that not only has technology changed, but so too have consumers. “Advertisers are looking for innovation,” DAX North America CEO Les Hollander said. And that is something audio companies say there is no shortage of in 2022. Read moreAudio In The Spotlight As Advertising Week Showcases Hottest Media Trends.

Musixmatch is moving beyond songs to the spoken word. It has beta-launched a new platform for podcasts that, similar to its music service, will allow users to follow along an episode with lyrics that are generated by artificial intelligence and varied using a crowd sourcing model. Musixmatch says its move into podcasts will help shows with discovery since not only are the transcripts more search engine-friendly, but they also make it easier for fans of a show to share clips on social media. Read moreMusixmatch Brings Its AI-Powered Lyrics Generator To Podcasts Transcriptions.

British politics has never been so topsy turvy and it is creating a readymade opening for Crooked Media to expand its Pod Save America brand. During this week’s IAB Podcast Upfront in London, Crooked Media announced it will expand internationally with the release of Pod Save the UK. Nish Kumar, a British comic and television host, has been recruited to host the new edition. Read more‘Pod Save America’ Is Heading Oversees With Crooked Creating ‘Pod Save The UK.’

Author Rachel Hollis is moving her podcast to SiriusXM in a deal that calls for Stitcher to distribute the show and SXM Media to handle advertising sales. The Rachel Hollis Podcast averages over 36 million downloads per year with a self-help format that sees Hollis interviewing people in business and media, as well as deep dives into topics like health and motivation. SiriusXM says self-help and motivational podcasts are increasingly becoming more popular with listeners. Read moreSelf Help Author Rachel Hollis Moves To SiriusXM.

Betches Media CRO David Speigel says the lack of flexibility and transportability of subscriptions is hampering efforts to build a pay business... Spotify is making podcasts available in South Korea for the first time on its app.. Tortoise Media and Sky Studios have signed an exclusive multi-year first look deal to adapt Tortoise podcasts into television series and films, including scripted and documentary content… Chicago podcasters have a new studio to work with. Fabre Studios has opened in the West Loop. Read morePodcast News Bites: Betches Media, Spotify, Tortoise Media, Sky Studios.

Teams of hostage negotiators have become a staple of crime shows on television, and this week a new podcast debuts that looks into where the idea originates. There’s also a new show featuring journalists talking about the quirky long form article they spent months reporting. Also, a scary fiction anthology just in time for Halloween season. And a show that explores the Great American Songbook. Here’s some of what’s new this week in podcasting. Read moreHere’s What’s New In Podcasts This Week.

Good production, good writing, and ads that are embedded into the content are all some of the ways podcasters can help overcome what remains a natural tendency by consumers to avoid advertising. NuVoodoo President Carolyn Gilbert said there is a “huge upside” for commercials done well. NuVoodoo’s survey released Wednesday at the Podcast Futures conference also shows the demand to grow podcast revenue is also running up against listener expectations. Read moreMore Ads For Podcasts? Listeners Have Some Thoughts On That.

Podcast Radio, the U.K.-based company that is putting podcasts on digital radio stations around Britain, has confirmed it is coming to America. “We’re bringing Podcast Radio to the U.S.,” Director Paul Chantler announced at the company’s Podcast Futures conference in New York on Wednesday. “Half our online listeners are here in the States,” he said. Read moreU.K.’s Podcast Radio Targets U.S. Market With Syndicated Podcast-Driven Format.

More Americans are listening to audio, including radio and podcasts, on mobile devices than on traditional radio receivers for the first time ever. According to Edison Media Research’s Share of Ear, consumption of audio on a mobile device passed radio receiver consumption – 33.3% to 33.1%. In 2014, around half of all audio content was consumed on a traditional radio receiver, compared to 18% on a mobile phone. Read moreReport: More Americans Are Listening To Audio On Mobile Devices Than Ever Before.

The podcast measurement company Podtrac is moving beyond measurement of shows and publishers. It has also begun tracking the top podcast ad sales networks. The new ranking will offer a peek into which networks have the biggest reach. Podtrac says it will also provide “actionable” data for ad buyers as they look to buy not only the biggest shows, but also the so-called long tail that includes shows with far fewer downloads. Read morePodtrac Launches New Podcast Sales Network Ranking.

It has generated a lot of attention for their show, but the hosts of the Drink Champs podcast say they have opted to take down their recent episode featuring Kanye West. The episode contained West making references to antisemitic conspiracies and suggesting George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose rather than at the hands of police. In a statement, the show said it does not want to “promote false narratives” and apologized to Floyd’s family. Read more‘Drink Champs’ Pull Episode Featuring Controversial Kanye West Interview.

In a world where digital media never dies, the producers of the comedy podcast Canadian Politics Is Boring say they will delete all versions of an upcoming episode once it is released on an audio cassette. Titled " An Incomplete History of The Hudson Bay Company,” the limited release of 50 cassettes will initially go to its Patreon subscribers, with the remaining copies shared with those who sign up as a welcome gift. Read moreThis Podcast Will Require A Cassette Player, Not A Phone, To Listen To.

Audie Cornish, the former NPR “All Things Considered” anchor who jumped to CNN earlier this year, is returning to the audio format. She is launching a new podcast, The Assignment, next month. On the weekly show, CNN says Cornish will have conversations with everyday people at the center of debates that are rocking the culture. Its debut comes despite layoffs last month at CNN Audio and plans to scale back some of its podcast ambitions. Read moreAudie Cornish Has Some New Things To Consider On Her CNN Podcast ‘The Assignment.’

The second season of the true crime podcast Cold won the Marconi Award for best radio-produced podcast of the year at NAB Show New York... Podsights’s year-old Advisor tool to help find what it calls the “hidden gems” in podcast advertising based on past campaign performance is now free for all users... The podcast player company Pocket Casts is making the leap to open source... Amazon Music’s SmartLess lands interview with President Biden ahead of election... Triton Digital releases its latest ranking of the top podcasts in New Zealand. Read morePodcast News Bites: Marconi Awards, Podsights, Pocket Casts, SmartLess, Triton Digital.

The growth of podcast advertising during the past few years has been driven largely by a realization at the big national brands that, for many, their drift away from audio advertising was a mistake. The result is many brands have made a return, often to podcasts but also to broadcast radio, too. But as was laid out during an Advertising Week panel in New York on Tuesday, the focus is quickly turning to a finetuning of how those ads are placed.  Read moreBig Brands Are Embracing Audio, But Where Those Ads Turn Up Remains A Critical Factor.

Audioboom has made no secret of its interest in potential deal-making. But a trio of companies that were reportedly considering making a bid to buy Audioboom never even knocked on the door. That is according to CEO Stuart Last, who tells investors that speculation surfaced earlier this year yet the company had “no direct contact” with Spotify, Amazon and Vivendi. “No offers were received,” Last said. Read moreDespite Speculation Of Potential Sale, Audioboom Says ‘No Offers’ Received.